A traditional furniture conservator, restorer and maker discusses his life experiences and his philosophy of work. If you love marquetry this is the place to discuss it. All work is done with hand tools and organic traditional materials and methods.

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

I am pleased to be invited back for another teaching period at Marc Adams School of Woodworking.

I enjoy the atmosphere and support by the staff at MASW. It is an environment which is full of energy and ideas. The students all work together and many of them seem to actually live there full time. Some of them really do. Others return again and again to share and learn more about different and diverse aspects of woodworking.

I also enjoy meeting other teachers who are working there at the same time. These are professional woodworkers that I read about and follow online, but, without actually teaching at the school, I would never have the opportunity to spend quality time with them.

This year I am teaching three classes, and I welcome you to check out the schedule and see if there are any openings left.

The main class is, as usual, working a full week with the "chevalet de marqueterie." Marc has made 8 of these tools, and it is exciting to see (and hear) a full class sawing away, cutting precise elements from marquetry packets. I should mention that in North America there are only three schools where you can have this instruction. Paul Miller, in Vancouver, is a past student of mine and has the Canadian School of French Marquetry, with 4 chevalets. Of course, I was the first to open such a school, the American School of French Marquetry, in San Diego. I have currently 8 such tools, and have ordered more from David Clark, in Missouri.

David Clark has set up a business making custom chevalets, following my blueprints, and builds tools that are cost effective and precise. His website is www.chevaletkits.com.

A few years ago I convinced Marc to also build 8 such tools and he sets them up each year in a classroom for me to use.

Waiting for Students to Arrive

All instruction is following as close as possible the lesson plan developed by Dr. Pierre Ramond, who taught for decades at ecole Boulle, in Paris. I was fortunate to have studied under Pierre for most of the 1990's, and have dedicated my teaching career to continuing his efforts. French marquetry is the only method in the world which uses a horizontal blade, cutting the packet at 90 degrees on a special tool, the chevalet.

There is more information about this process in previous posts.

This year, from October 9 to 13, I will teach a 40 hour class on French marquetry, focusing on the Boulle process (tarsia a incastro) as well as the Painting in Wood variation of this process, depending on the student's experience and goals. If there are any returning students I will be happy to include the Classic Method ("piece by piece").

Simple Method for Veneering Columns

On October 14 I will spend the entire day teaching about my method for gluing veneer onto turned wood elements, like columns. Years ago I had such an article published in Fine Woodworking ("Master Class") and one of my pieces with veneered columns was on the back cover. I have worked out a simple method which is easy and low tech. You can turn the elements out of any wood you want and then veneer them with exotic veneer to match the rest of the project.

On October 15 I will follow up this with a full day discussing the properties of traditional protein glues. For nearly 50 years I have used protein glues exclusively, and have researched them extensively. I was involved in an international conservation group in Paris that did specialized research into these glues and I have developed my own liquid protein glue formula, Old Brown Glue. I will be sharing my knowledge and experience about how these different protein glue work and what you need to know to use them in your shop.

As they say, "It is worth the price of admission."

I look forward to meeting you there. Contact www.MARCADAMS.COM for more.

About Me

I was born in Los Angeles in 1948 and moved to San Diego in 1958. I entered UCSD as the first freshman class in 1967 and graduated in 1971 with a degree in Applied Physics and Information Science, minor in American History. During my college years I owned an antique store at the same time I worked 20 hours a week in the physics department at UCSD. In 1968 I worked on site at Brookhaven Labs in New York for a year and took my classes by mail. Upon graduation I secured a job for Maxwell Labs, ran my antique business on the weekends and taught Decorative Arts classes at night. I produced a series of 10 shows on CBS called "Welcome to the Past...The History of American Furniture." In 1972 I decided to quit my physics career and devote full time to the antiques business. It was the best decision of my life.
I choose to work by hand, without machinery, using only period materials and methods. I also walk to work every day.
Life is good.